Method of making styli, &amp;c.



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` APPLICTION flLED DEC. Il IBIS l 1,251,907, Pqtented Jan. 1, 1918.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. W. 'MYEEL METHOD 0F MAKING STYLI, 6m.

APPLICATIQM mw Dzc. In Isls.

1,251,907. Y n Patented Jfmf1,191&

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. n

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES 'PATENT oFFroE.

WILLIAM W. MOYEB., OF C AVIDEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO VICTOR TALKING MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF JERSEY.

' METHOD or MAKING sTYLr. ne.

Application led December l To all finito/n 'it mog] concern:

.Be it known that l, VVILLiAM W. More?, a citizen of the United States, and n rese dent ol Camden, county of Camden, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Styli' for Use in, Connection with the Reproduction of Sound from 'lnllring- Machine Records, of which the following is a` specification.

It has been discovered that tungsten' or tungstenie materiel is peculiarly adapted ior styli or needles of sound reproducing inachines. A stylus eoinposed of tungsten or tungstenic material exhibits properties dit'n lering in a marked degree from styli of other materials. Among the characteristics are that a stylus of tungsten. or tungstenic materialhas little injurious effect upon the walls of the sound record groove during the reproduction of the sound from a .reoord, and may be used, a large number of tignes and on dierent records without injuriously af footing the Walls of the sound record groove. It also appears to rapidly wear, at first, until its sides, in engagement with the sound record groove, fit and conform to the shape of the groove,`nfter Which the weer is negligible or inappreciable throughout the reproduction of sound from the remainder of the groove ol.' the record.

Tungsten is, however, a. dilile'ult material to work, particularly when it is in the forni of a wire, the diameter of which is equal to the width of a sound record groove. '.l`ung sten wireis brittle and tends to split. It is also expensive.V Since only a very small portion of a stylus is in actual contact with the sound record groove lin reproducing sound from a record, it is obviouslydesirable to employ as little of it as possible. If, therefore, a steel shank be provided With a tip of Vtungsten or tunvstenic material to engage and eoperate with the walls of the sound record groove, substantially all of the desirable properties of tungsten and tungstenie materials, as applied to this art, are utilized, and the present inventon'has for its purpose the making of a stylus having a shank of' cheaper more easily Worked ina- Speication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan.' 1', 191e.

portion el' a stylus tor sound reproducing machines. In actuel practice, the shank or body portion is less than one one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and about tl'iroo fourths an 'inch long. For the salie ot' clearness, the drawings are made ou a greatly enlarged scale throughout the Various views.

Fig. :2 is an end view' of the shank or body portion illustrated in lig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows the shank or body portion of malleable wire held in a suitable slidable carrier and positioned' inalinement with a die of hard steel.

Fig. lshows the stylus body, together with its carrier moved to bring the end of the stylus into engagement with the die.

Fig. 5 is an end front view-A of the die showing the cupped recess therein, and the small aperture atthe bottoni thnough which the tungsten wire is adapt-'ed to bethreaded.

Fig. (l is n cross-.sectional vieyvzon the linel G-l of Fig. 1l showing the carrier in which the body or shank of the stylus 1s positioned, held `and moved during the practice of the steps of the process of this'applicabody portion of the stylus.

Fig. 8 is an end View of the sty1usshow 'i ing the tunsten Wire held in indicated in `ig. 7.

Fig. 9 indicates the next step of the prooess which consists in imparting to the carposition as rier, and to the stylus body or shank carried thereby, a. sharp blow, or a succession of blows, to force, the tapered end of the malleable steel Wirevinto the bottom of the cup-shaped die to swage the tapered end of the shankr and make it conform in shape to the bottom of the die, to close the slot at the sides of the tungsten wire insert. and to force the metal of the end of the shank into tight. gripping engagement with the tungsten wire insert.

"Fig 10 shows the cutting or severing ot the tungstenwire at a short distance from the lpoint where it proti-'udes .trom the shank or body portion.

Fig. 11 shows the carrier moved back from the die, and the stylus shank or body with the tungsten wire tip swaged therein.

Fig. 12 illustrates diagramina'ticalI v the grinding of the sharp l'ree edge ot the tungsten Wire tip to slightlybevel the same and remove any burs or sharp edges which might be thereon.` y l Fig. 13 indicates the completed stylus. and Fig. 14 is a front. 9nd view ot' thefsarne'. In carrying out the invention. a piece :.-l'

straight wire of substantially the.length ot'- a talking machine stylus o r needle is tapered or beveled at one oi .itsl ends and slotted 'to 4form a shank or body )ortion 1 suoli as is shown in Fig. 1. This body or shank of preferably a. malleable wire, such' as soft` steel, is about one slxteenth of an inch in diameter and substantially three lourths ot' an inch long. The shank, shown 1n Fig. 1, 1s prcer-ably made on any suitable screw making. machine. The shanky or body portion 1 so formed is thus provided `with a tapered end 2 and a transverse narrow slot or korf 3. The width of this slot, channel or kerf is very small, preferably substailtially six one thousandths of an inch, that is to say its diameter is substant-iailly equal to the width of a sound record groove i-i acorn- Inercial sound record tablet.

The shank or body. portion 1 thus formed i is then preferably placed in a suitable holder or carrier i. which preferablyY consists o'lE an iron or steel block lmvinga grooveorehannel (3 .in the top face thereof. the width of said groove being substantially the same as the diameter ot the shank or body portion 1. Thebottom of the groove is semicircular and ot a radius equal to the radins of the shank or body portion 1. In this way, the under halt' ot the shank or body portion l will snugly tit into the bottom ot' the chan nel or groove G throughout the length of the block 5 and its top `surface will be exactly on a level with or a trille above the top sur flee ot" the'blochv 5. Any suitable holding straps'or fingers 'Tw-7 `may then be arranged to slide over the top ot' the block 5 to firmly hold or clamp the bodyportion or shanhr 1 seated in said groove. The said carrier 4 is 'preferably7 provided at its rear end with a hard steel anvil 8. made unitary with the bl'm'k or carrier 5 in any suitable manner,

and the shank or body portion 1 is held in the carrier with its rear end squarely seated against the block or anvil 8.

The carrier if is preferably relatively freely slidable on a base o'r support 9 between guides 1|0-104 arranged parallel to the axis of the groove (5 in the block -ln alinemcnt w-ith the axis of the shank or body portion 1, when it is seated in the groove o, as above described, is a die l1 ot' hard steel, the same having a cup-shaped recess 1:2 in that face nearest the end of the shank or body portion`1. At the bottom ot' the recess 12 in the die 11 is a small-opening 13 in axial alineinent with the cup-shaped recess 12, said opening 13 being preferably of a diameter substantially equal to the width'of the slot 2i.

Against. the rear face of the die 1l, a cutting blade 11 bears tightly and is provided `vith a passage 15 therethrough. Said passage. 15 is substantially the same diameter as the openingl 13 at its end adjacent the die 11, and. its opposite end is larlger and preterably tapers rearwardly to register with a similar but. oppositely tapered opening or passae'e 15 in the rear block or guide 17.

baid die 11 is preferably rigidly mounted on any suitable rigid base or support. Thei cup-shaped recess 12 and the openings or passages 13, 15 and 1G are normally in axial alinement with the axis ot' the shank or body portion 1 when the same is seat-ed. in the groore (i of the block 5 as clearly 'shown in Fig. 3.

After hai-'ing been positioned in the manner indicated in Fig. 3, the carrie. or holder 4 is moved toi-'ard the die 11 to bring` the tapered slotted end 2 of the shank-or body portion 1 into engagement. with the interior ot' the cup-shaped recess 12 of the die 11 as indicated in Fig. l. In this stage or step ot' the process the end o't the shank 1 does not quite reach or engage the extreme bottom of the cup-shaped recess. but the edge of the smaller end ot' the tapered portion 2 rests against the walls ot the recess 12.

A length ot tniigsten wire 18 is then 'l'ed or advanced through the openings 1G, 15 and l until its free end engages and seats on the bottom ot' the slot 3. The opening 18,-the" width ot' theA slot and the narrow or convstricted'parts ot' the passages or openings 15. and lo are preferably of substantially thesame dialnet-er as that of the tungsten `wire 1S. that is to say. ot' substantially the size ot' the width ot' the groove of a commer eial sound record tablet. The tungsten'wire just passes t'reely through said openings.' In Fig. 7 is indicated the above described step in which the tungsten wire 1Shas been passed through the opening 1U in the guide d?, in the guiding-blade H and in the die 11, and iik free end is in engagement with the botI on if the slot. .3 of thefshanlt or body portion 1.. 1n Fig. 8 the tungsten wire 18 is `shown to be in the slot 3 and in axial aline ment with the axis of the shank or body portion 1.

A sharp blow is thon imparted to the carrier or holder 4L and through the holder or carrier 4 to 'the shank 1, by a hammer 19, of any suitable type actuated in any suitable 'in'ariner by any suitable means. The hannner 19 drives the slotted and tapered'eiid 2 o1 the shank or body portion 1 of "the stylus into the bottom of the cup-shaped recess 12 :in the die 11,. This blow swages the tapered end 2 to the tungsten Wire. It causes the tapered end to coliform to the curved bottom ot the recess` 12, closes the slot 3 on each side of the tungsten Wire 18 and compresses the metal of the 'tapered end 2 of the shank tightly against the tungsten insert. In this manner, the free end of the tungsten wire 18 is firmly and rigidly secured to and made substantially unitary With the tapered end 2 of the shank or body portion 1. While the blow is being imparted by the hammer 19 to theliolder 4 t and thereby tothe shank or body portion 1) the tungsten Wire 1S is substantially free to slide or move with the shank 1, sliding slightly through the openings 13, 15 and 16, that is to say, the tungsten Wire is not held clamped in the die 1l nor in the cutting blade 14, norV in the guide or su )port 17. The tungsten Wire is preferably heid yieldingly pressed against the bottom of the slide on the channel 3 when the blow is imparted to the shank 1 by. the hammer 19, so that it is not bent or broken by the advance of the stylus shank into the die. As a matter of fact, the advance of the carrier or holder 4 and the shank or stylus 1 toward the die 11 as the result of the blow by thehammer 19 is very slight, but it is sutlieien-t to shape the tapered end 2 on the shank or body portion 1 and make it con* forni to and take the shape of the bottom of the cup-shaped recess 12, and to closeV the slot 3 substantially completely around the tungsten 'wire 18, and to force the malleable metal of the tapered end 2 into very tight engagement with the tungsten wire 18.

The tapered end 2 of the shank or body `portion-1 of the stylus havingthus been swage'd around'the free end of the tungsten -wire,fthe cutting blade 14 is then given a motion transversely to the axis of the tungsteniwire 1,8 to shear of 'the tungsten Wire at a short distance from the swayed and tapered end 20 of'the shankor body 1. The distance from the bottom 4of the 'cup-shaped recess 12 to the rear face of the die 11 is made equal to the distance that the tungsten wire 'is to' protrude 'from the end of the shank or.

bodyjl in the finished stylus. Since it is not desired Ito cut the tun vsten Wire` between fthecutting bladel-fl an the guide or block 17, the passages 15 and 1G are tapered at this point in order to permit the tungsten 'wire to freely bend without breaking or severing. The cutting blade 11 is then operated to sever the tungsten tip ivhich has been sivaged lo the lshank l.

A'l'ter the blade 1-l has severedV the tung sien wire 18, the carrier or holder t is moved rearwardly away lironi the die 11, carryingl with it the substanlially` `completed stylus, now comprising a shank or body portion 1 having` a tapered end 2, the outer eXtreme end of which, 20, is lightly sivaged around :ind liruily grips and holds a tungsten ivii'e lip 2.1, the diameter ot' which tip is siiblsl'zintially equal to the 'ividtli of a sound record groove.

The next' step in the process is lo bevel or round oli the edge o'l the 'lree end of' the "tungsten tip 21, and to thereby remove any iur which might be i'iresent on the said end stone) on the free end et a spring seciired to any suitable support 25 and holding the end oi the tungsten tip 21 against it While the stylus is being rapidly rotated'in the chuck 22. Any grinding means, however, may be substituted therefor, such as inserting the end of the tungsten tip, While the stylus` is being rotated, into a eoi'iical recess in an abrasive block, or by replacing the block of abrasive held mounted on the free end of the spring, (as diagraminatically shown `in FigL -12) with a rapidly rotating abrasive Wheel.

A side elevational View of the finished stylus is indicated in Fig. 13 and an end rievv of the same shown in Fig. 14. It Ais to be observed that. the slot 3 in the original shank or body portion"l 1 has been tightly Closed by this swaging process and that only a. slight mark appears on the tapered surface ot' the shank or body portion at the bottom of the groove or ohanneL All the metal of the swaged end tightly closed around the tungsten Wire, and the tungsten wire is substantially unitarily united with the swaged end of the shank or body por-- tion 1.

In order to increase, regulate or vary the degree of tiexibilit-y of the stylus for the purpose of' diminishing or modifying the volume and other qualities of the sound reproduced by the use of the stylus of this invention, (i. e. for making soft toned or the reduced portion 26 may be omitted.

This application is not to be construed as limited to any particular mechanism for performing the steps above set forth and inasmuch as various machines and mechanisms may be constructed for performing the steps of the process, and any means may be employed for forcing the tapered end 2 of the shank l into the die, Whether the same consists of means for imparting to the shank a blow, or a series of blows, or a'sloW subs stantially continuous high pressure, provided the tapered end of the shank or body portion is thereby made to inclose the tungsten insert so firmly and ltightly as to make the said insert substantially unitary with the shank or body portion.

vHaving thus described-my invention, what I claim and desiref to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of making a` sound reprodncing stylus of tWo metal parts which consists in providing the end of a rod of Inalleable metal forming 'the shani With a recess, inserting a length of Wire orming the tip in said recess, and Siva-ging the end of A said malleable rod to close said recess around said wire by endWise and lateral pressure to thereby permanently secure said wire to said rod.

2. The method of joining a tip to a shank to make a sound reproducing stylus which consists in providing a shank of malleable metalV with a tapered end, providing a recess in said tapered end, inserting and holding the tip forming material in said recess, and swaging the end of the malleable shank by endvvise and lateral pressure to pei'mw nently secure the tip to said shank by closing the recess in the shank around the tip.

3. The methggluof joining a tip to a shank to make ay sound reproducing stylus which lconslsts 1n providing the end of a' malleable met-al rod with a recess,inserting a length of Wire in said recess, swaging the end of the malleable metal rod around said Wire by endwise and lateral pressure topermanently secure said wire in said metal, and cutting oli' said wire a short distance from the end of the metal rod.

4. 'Ihe method of joining a metal tip to a shank to make a sound reproducing stylus' which consists in providingthe end of a rod of malleable metal with a recess, inserting and holding a length of Wire in said recess, swaging the en'd of the malleable metal by endwise and lateral pressure to close said recess around said wire, tting olf the Wire at a short.I distance fromhe point Where it protrudes from the end ofthe malleable rod and beveling the'free end of said Wire tip.

5. The method of joining a tip to a shank to make a sound reproducing stylus lwhich consists in providing a length of malleable metal forming the shank 'with a recess, inserting a length of Wire forming the tip in said recess, swaging the end of the shank around the tip by endwise and lateral pressure to permanently secure the tip of the shank, cutting 0H the tip a short distance from the end of the shank, and providing the shank with a reduced portion to form a neck in the shank adjacent the tipped end thereof.

`6. The method of oining a tip to a shaiik to make a sound reproducing stylus which consists in transversely slotting the free end of the rod of malleable metal to form an open. kerf, inserting and holding a length of wire of substantlally the same diameter if wire in substantially co-aXial alinement with the axis of said malleable metal, confining the kerfed end of said rod against lat-eral movement, and delivering an endWise blow to said metal while thus confined to thereby swage the kerfed end of the rod around the wire to tightly unite the tip to the shank.

7. The method of joining a4 tip to a shank to. make a sound reproducing stylus which consists in providing a rod of malleable' metal `forming the shank with a transverse slotacross the end thereof, insertinor and holding a length of tungsten wire formino' the tip in said slot, and swaging the end ofbsaid shank by endwise and lateral pressure to close the slot around said tip and permanently secure the tip to the shank.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of. December, 191 WILLIAM W. MoYEn. 

